After a big weekend for the Rangers, getting their first win of the season, the team is back at it in Canada tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers had an exciting night on Saturday with Kreider continuing his strong start, Lafreniere scoring in his home province in front of friends and family, and a solid all around performance from Shesterkin and the rest of the team to land a 3-1 win against the team that just went to the Stanley Cup final. The one downside was losing to Kaapo Kakko to an upper body injury that will leave him out for at least the rest of this road trip.
As for tonight, the Rangers take on a 2-1, highly skilled Toronto Maple Leafs team who have been without their star center in Auston Matthews to start the season. Matthews is expected to make his season debut tonight and is one goal away from his 200th, the Rangers will certainly want to keep their eyes on him when he's on the ice. As for the Rangers, they too were without a top center in their last game as Ryan Strome was placed on the Covid protocol list. It's unknown what his status will be for tonight but I would assume he remains out for another night.
With Strome's situation as well as the Kakko injury in mind, the Rangers have called up Morgan Barron from Hartford who has scored in each game he's played in the AHL. He has joined the team in Toronto and could very well be in the mix for tonight. With Strome likely out again, I wouldn't be surprised if Barron gets a look at that third line center spot, leaving Chytil on the second line and keeping Rooney on the fourth. It makes sense the Rangers went with a more seasoned vet in Greg McKegg against the Canadiens in their home opener. On top of it being their home opener, it's the first time in a year and a half the Bell Center was able to have fans, the energy was destined to be intense, especially for a younger player.
The Rangers certainly have options with tonight's line up. It's likely Barron will replace McKegg and Gauthier will come in for Kakko. However, there's always the possibility of Chytil playing the wing or of course the seven defensemen option. If I'm Gallant, I'm rolling with:
Lafreniere - Zibanejad - Kreider
Panarin - Chytil - Goodrow
Blais - Barron - Gauthier
Hunt - Rooney - Reaves
Personally, I would love a Panarin - Zibanejad - Gauthier line however, that's just unlikely to ever happen. On top of that, it's too early in the season for Gallant to break up that first line and start experimenting, Moving Goodrow to that second line makes sense, he has the experience and can utulize his gritty style to allow Chytil and Panarin to generate offense and make some plays. Gauthier and Barron on the line with Barron not only makes for a big line in size, but has the potential to be an exciting line with a good balance of skill and grit. They all kind of play that style of bringing a physical presence while also being able to score goals.
On the back end, expect the same defense pairs and Igor Shesterkin likely to start in goal. Georgiev does have a pretty good track record against the Leafs but after the opening night criticism, I'm sure Gallant will play it safe and roll with Igor. Not to mention, you're coming off your first win, don't change anything you don't have to and you hope to build a bit of a hot streak at this point. The Rangers will want to have an offensive start as they will be going up against Jack Campbell in net who has had quite the rise, playing very well in net for the Leafs.
The Rangers have two days before they play again following tonight's game, you don't want to have to think about coming back from a loss with that much time in between games so it's key the Rangers look for a win tonight. They have a great opportunity to start stringing together some wins and build a base for what they hope to establish this season. Zibanejad and Panarin haven't necessarily gotten off to the most productive start this season, look for this to be a game where at least one of them breaks out and finally gets their name in the goals column.
Chris Feldman
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